Bridal shop collapse leaves hundreds of brides-to-be left in the lurch

Danielle Dyer was one of 300 people affected by the closing of Berketex bridal shop.

BOSSES at a company that left hundreds of brides-to-be in the lurch will be probed by administrators winding up the firm.

Fifteen Berketex Bride stores across Britain – including two in Scotland – shut their doors on Tuesday with little or no warning.

The company’s Newcastle outlet had suddenly closed almost two weeks earlier but furious brides say the firm continued to take orders.

The company also had a significant presence at the Scottish Wedding Show in the middle of last month, where it was still selling dresses.

Administrators say the behaviour of the company will be investigated in the lead-up to the collapse.

The sole director of Berketex’s parent company Bridal Fashions Ltd is Taiwanese-Canadian Tsung-Hui Huang.

He became a director in 2013 and expressed his “sincere apologies for the abrupt closure of the store and any subsequent inconvenience this may cause”.

Once officially appointed, an administrator will explore the possibility of selling the stock, brand and website.

On Tuesday, Berketex Bride announced its retail outlets in the UK – including stores in Glasgow and Edinburgh – would be closed with immediate effect. It is believed that up to 80 staff will lose their jobs.

An estimated 300 brides-to-be have orders with the company.

Danielle’s Story

A bride-to-be made a 450-mile motorway dash to rescue her wedding dress from Berketex two days after the company collapsed.

Danielle Dyer, 25, raced from her home in Dunbar, East Lothian, to the stricken company’s former headquarters in Sheffield to pick up her £1,400 dress which had been sent away to have some alterations done.

The nursing assistant and her fiancé Lawrie McLaren, 26, will tie the knot in Las Vegas on Friday. But Danielle thought her big day would be ruined after she found out Berketex had gone bust.

“I ordered my dress in June and was supposed to pick it up from the Berketex shop in Edinburgh this weekend after a final fitting,” she told The Sunday Post. “But last Tuesday night I was in shock when I got a message from a relative telling me the company had closed down.

“We have a party of 22 friends and relatives coming to Vegas with us on Tuesday for the wedding and I was freaking out that I would have no dress. I felt sick and I burst into tears.”

Her dress was eventually traced to the Berketex head office in Sheffield.

“The administrators for Berketex in Edinburgh were actually really helpful and I would never have got my dress if they hadn’t stepped in and located it.

“The stress of all this has been incredible.”